Text of the post:
“The concept of worship.
“Many Muslims are confused about worship and think it means religious duties such as prayer, fasting, zakat and Hajj. In reality, it does not.
“Worship is ‘supplication,’ according to Qur’anic texts. God says: ‘I created jinn and human beings only to worship Me,’ meaning to call upon Me and ask Me, so I answer them. He follows this by clarifying ‘to worship Me’: ‘I seek no provision from them, nor do I ask them to feed Me. God is the Provider, the Possessor of Power, the Strong.’ Elsewhere He says: ‘Your Lord says: Call upon Me and I will answer you. Those too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell humbled.’ The verse clearly defines worship as supplication. Elsewhere He addresses His Prophet, referring to His ‘servants’: ‘When My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the supplicant’s call when they call upon Me.’ What, then, are religious duties, and why were they imposed?
“Religious duties are a collection of rites imposed to purify and refine the soul and prepare it to receive a ray of God’s light. Prayer was prescribed for remembrance and mindfulness. Addressing Moses, God says: ‘Worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.’ The verse clearly distinguishes worship from prayer and specifies prayer’s reason: ‘for My remembrance.’ Another verse explains its importance in refining and purifying the soul: ‘Prayer restrains indecency and wrongdoing.’ Regarding fasting, He says: ‘Fasting has been prescribed for you as for those before you, so that you may become mindful of God.’ The reason is clear: ‘so that you may become mindful.’ Concerning zakat: ‘Take charity from their wealth to cleanse and purify them thereby.’ Its reason is therefore purification and cleansing the soul of stinginess: ‘Those protected from their own soul’s stinginess are the successful.’ Another verse explains His independence and exaltedness: ‘Neither their flesh nor their blood reaches God, but your mindfulness of Him reaches Him.’
“We conclude that rites revolve around, depend upon and are directed towards the human soul. They are imposed upon it and return to it in purification, refinement and ascent through the stages of those journeying towards God. God has no need of them, for He is the Self-Sufficient.”
Comment:
To begin, this post advances the utilitarian interpretation of religion through a convoluted argument involving distortion, confusion and demolition of truths established among the community, young and old, even among unbelievers, People of the Book and others. It does so only to introduce utilitarian interpretation under the claim of investigation and removing confusion. In reality the writer has confused people without good reason. He could have stated what he wanted without these enormities of distorting verses and violating consensus. Utilitarian interpretation itself is already objectionable, but distorting worship’s meaning and claiming supplication alone is worship, excluding Islam’s other pillars, is a grave offence requiring several observations.
First: His interpretation of “I created jinn and human beings only to worship Me,” restricting worship to supplication and excluding Islam’s pillars, which he calls merely “rites,” on the grounds that God mentions His lack of need for food and provision, is false. He does not explain how the verse supports it, quite apart from contradicting earlier and later commentators. The leading commentator Ibn Jarir al-Tabari explains the verse: “I created jinn and human beings only to worship Us and submit humbly to Our command.” Tafsir al-Tabari, 21/555.
Ibn al-Jawzi surveys the interpretations: “They differed concerning this verse in four opinions: first, only to command them to worship Me; second, only to acknowledge servitude willingly or unwillingly; third, that it applies specifically to believers; fourth, only to submit and humble themselves before Me.” Zad al-Masir, 4/173.
Shaykh al-Islam analyses these opinions finely in Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 8/39, adding two further opinions before saying:
“The sixth opinion, although Abu al-Faraj mentioned only four, is that held by most Muslims: God created them to worship Him, meaning to do what they were commanded. Hence Muslims, past and present, cite this verse for this meaning even in their exhortations, reminders and accounts… This is transmitted from the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib and other predecessors. Ali is reported to have said: ‘Only to command them to worship Me and call them to My worship.’ They say it is supported by ‘They were commanded only to worship God sincerely’ (al-Bayyinah 98:5), and ‘They were commanded only to worship one God’ (al-Tawbah 9:31). This is the choice of al-Zajjaj and others. It is also known from Mujahid through an established chain. Ibn Abi Hatim said: Abu Sa‘id al-Ashajj narrated to us, Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Shibl, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, concerning ‘I created jinn and human beings only to worship Me’: ‘To command and prohibit them.’ Similarly, al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas said: ‘I created them only for worship.’” Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 8/51.
Elsewhere he says:
“Accordingly, the l in ‘only to worship Me’ indicates this religious, legislative will, whose intended object may or may not occur. It means that the end He loves and approves for them, which they are commanded to perform, is worship. It is the work for which servants were created: what brings their perfection and soundness, through which they become approved and loved. Whoever fails to achieve this end lacks what is loved, approved and intended for them by the religious will in which their happiness and salvation lie, and lacks their perfection and soundness, an absence necessarily entailing corruption and punishment.” Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 8/189.
You can see that none uses the verse to restrict worship’s meaning to supplication alone.
Second: “Your Lord says: Call upon Me and I will answer you. Those too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell humbled” (Ghafir 40:60) establishes only that supplication belongs to worship and is among its greatest forms. No one disputes this. It does not exclude other acts from worship. This is clarified by the next point.
Third: The writer either does not know or ignores the widely recognised division of supplication into “supplication of request” and “supplication of worship.” Islam’s four practical pillars and all other acts of worship belong to the latter. There is no contradiction between supplication of request, which he alone calls worship, and supplication of worship embodied in worship’s various forms. Both contain supplication’s purpose, the motive leading a Muslim to undertake it: hoped-for recompense and reward in the hereafter. Whether one asks God directly or worships through rites intending this, in both cases one calls upon and asks God. The two kinds are inseparable.
The writer’s ignorance is shown by the fact that scarcely any book of sound creed, including commentaries on the Book of Monotheism, neglects this matter. It is too well known to require elaboration or proof.
Shaykh al-Islam says:
“God’s words, ‘Call upon your Lord humbly and privately. He does not love transgressors. Do not cause corruption on earth after its reform, and call upon Him in fear and hope. God’s mercy is near to those who do good’ (al-A‘raf 7:55–56), encompass the manners of both kinds: supplication of worship and supplication of request. In the Qur’an, supplication sometimes means one, sometimes the other, and sometimes both. They are inseparable.
“Supplication of request seeks what benefits the caller and the removal or prevention of harm. The one worshipped must possess control of benefit and harm. God therefore condemns worshipping things besides Him that control neither, frequently in the Qur’an: ‘Do not call upon anything besides God that neither benefits nor harms you’ (Yunus 10:106), and ‘They worship besides God what neither harms nor benefits them’ (Yunus 10:18). He denies these objects of worship power to harm or benefit either themselves or others. They possess none for themselves or their worshippers.
“The Qur’an repeatedly explains that the one worshipped must control benefit and harm. A person calls upon Him for benefit and protection from harm through supplication of request, and calls in fear and hope through supplication of worship. Thus the two are inseparable: every supplication of worship entails a supplication of request, and every supplication of request includes worship. Accordingly, ‘When My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the supplicant’s call when they call upon Me’ (al-Baqarah 2:186) includes both kinds and has been interpreted through each.” Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 15/10.
There is therefore no contradiction between supplication of request and supplication of worship, including Islam’s pillars and other acts. They are inseparable, leaving no justification for this strange interpretation. But someone seeking to distort religion and redirect Muslims’ outlook and beliefs towards utilitarian ends begins with such distortions, making people doubt established truths through what they imagine they understand from the Qur’an while discarding every proof of their error. Worship is emptied of its original meanings to receive utilitarian ones under the pretext of purifying the soul and benefiting humanity alone.
Fourth: The post violates linguists’ agreement that devotion and worship mean humility and submission with love and reverence. This is not restricted to supplication, excluding prayer, fasting, zakat and Hajj. All are forms and manifestations of devotion to God intended in themselves. Explaining the meaning of servitude among Arabs, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari says:
“Among all Arabs, servitude originally means lowliness. They call a road made smooth by feet and travellers mu‘abbad. Hence Tarafah ibn al-‘Abd’s verse:
‘She races swift, noble she-camels, following
One foreleg with another upon a smooth, beaten path.’“By mawr he means the road, and by mu‘abbad, smoothed and trodden. Likewise, a camel tamed for riding on errands is called mu‘abbad, and a servant is called ‘abd because of humility before the master. Examples from Arabic poetry and speech are beyond counting.” Tafsir al-Tabari, 1/159.
Ibn al-Jawzi says: “Worship’s linguistic meaning is humility and submission.” Zad al-Masir, 4/173.
Shaykh al-Islam says: “Worship’s original meaning is also humility. A road is called mu‘abbad when smoothed and trodden by feet. But the worship commanded includes both humility and love: utmost humility before God with utmost love for Him.” Al-‘Ubudiyyah, p. 48.
This shows how the post restricts devotion to supplication and empties Islam’s pillars, the “rites,” of devotion, humility, love and reverence by making them mere instruments. Yet they are neither accepted nor counted as worship without that intention and purpose. Devotion, meaning humility, submission and love for God, is a condition of their being worship. This meaning encompasses both them and supplication; there is no conflict. The following further clarifies it.
Fifth: The writer cites “Worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance” (Ta Ha 20:14) as distinguishing worship from prayer. In his account, prayer is not worship because “and” distinguishes them. This arises from ignorance. Joining two things with “and” does not necessarily make them different in every respect. It often joins a specific instance to a general category to highlight its merit and importance, as in: “Whoever is an enemy to God, His angels, His messengers, Gabriel and Michael, God is an enemy to unbelievers” (al-Baqarah 2:98). Consider the commentators’ explanations of the Ta Ha verse:
Al-Qurtubi says: “This draws attention to prayer’s immense standing, for it is humble supplication to God and standing before Him. On this basis prayer is remembrance. God calls prayer remembrance in ‘Hasten to God’s remembrance.’” Al-Jami‘ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an, 11/177.
Al-Baydawi says: “‘Establish prayer for My remembrance’: He specifically mentions and separately commands it because of the reason attached to its establishment: remembering the One worshipped and occupying heart and tongue with His remembrance.” Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta’wil, 4/24.
Al-Shawkani explains beautifully: “Then He commands worship: ‘Establish prayer for My remembrance.’ He singles out prayer although it is included within the command to worship, because it is the noblest obedience and finest worship. He gives the reason for establishing it: ‘for My remembrance,’ meaning so that you remember Me, for complete remembrance occurs only within worship and prayer.” Fath al-Qadir, 3/423.
Sixth: The same applies to denying that fasting, zakat and Hajj are worship because God mentions other matters connected with them. These connections do not contradict devotion; they belong within it and follow necessarily from it. Mindfulness in fasting and Hajj is a consequence of devotion to God. If devotion does not produce mindfulness, it is incomplete. This includes supplication as well as other worship. The same applies to cleansing and purification, particularly visible in zakat.
Seventh: Another point must be noted. Stripping the rites and Islamic pillars of their status as worship, restricting devotion to supplication and elaborating the rites’ reasons in terms of human benefit makes worship itself have no reason or wisdom in its prescription and no benefit returning to humanity. Consequently, passages encouraging worship and warning against abandoning it receive no consideration as referring to the known rites and pillars; the writer claims they all mean supplication alone. This finally requires us to highlight a dangerous issue over which feet have slipped and understandings collapsed.
Eighth: Devotion to God through every act of worship does not concern only the worshipper. It also relates to God as the Lord deserving worship. He loves to be praised, worshipped, remembered and thanked, approves His worship and commands it in glorification of His holy being.
Many who make worship concern only the worshipper deny that anything of it relates or returns to God, fearing to attribute need or benefit to Him, who is inherently independent of everything else.
Our obedience undoubtedly does not benefit God, nor our disobedience harm Him: “If you disbelieve, God has no need of you, but He does not approve disbelief for His servants. If you give thanks, He approves it for you” (al-Zumar 39:7). Regarding Hajj He says: “Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to God by those able to undertake it. Whoever disbelieves, God has no need of the worlds” (Al ‘Imran 3:97). Benefit and harm therefore return to humanity: “Whoever does righteousness, it is for themselves; whoever does evil, it is against themselves. Your Lord is never unjust to His servants” (Fussilat 41:46); and “Whoever does righteousness, it is for themselves; whoever does evil, it is against themselves. Then to your Lord you will return” (al-Jathiyah 45:15).
But this neither means nor entails that worship has no relation to God. Some misguided people use the correct foundation of God’s self-sufficiency to sever the connection between servants and their Lord, claiming worship has no basis or meaning apart from humanity’s own benefit. They interpret it materially, utilitarianly and in terms of interests: you do not pray for God because He needs no prayer; you pray for yourself. Prayer is spiritual strength, psychological training and bodily exercise; zakat is socialism and social solidarity; fasting is mental and physical health and moral education; Hajj is a political conference. Thus they interpret all worship as disconnected from God and directed towards humanity alone.
This is a dangerous deviation concerning worship and its purpose, among the doctrines of philosophers and speculative theologians claiming that God neither loves nor is loved, and neither approves nor becomes angry.
In the Book and Sunnah, however, worship’s relation to God is clear and explicit. God, Lord of the worlds, is Creator, Provider, Governor, Giver of life and death. In Himself He deserves love, reverence, fear, humility and submission. He deserves worship: “That is God, your Lord. There is no deity but Him, Creator of everything, so worship Him. He is guardian over everything” (al-An‘am 6:102). The Prophet therefore said: “God’s right over His servants is that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him.” Al-Bukhari and Muslim. God loves and approves those who worship Him and affirm His oneness, and indeed rejoices at repentant people’s repentance, as authentic hadiths establish.
God’s love for His believing servants and theirs for Him is established in His Book: “You who believe, whoever among you turns back from their religion, God will bring a people He loves and who love Him”; “God loves the God-fearing”; “God loves those who do good”; “God loves the patient”; and “God loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.” Likewise, His pleasure with them and theirs with Him: “The earliest forerunners among the Emigrants and Helpers, and those who followed them in goodness: God is pleased with them and they with Him.” Of believers in Surat al-Mujadilah He says: “God is pleased with them and they with Him. They are God’s party. Surely God’s party are the successful” (58:22).
God is therefore angry with those who disbelieve and disobey: “Eat of the good things We have provided, and do not transgress therein lest My anger descend upon you. Whoever My anger descends upon has fallen. Yet I am surely forgiving towards whoever repents, believes, acts righteously and then follows guidance” (81–82). Regarding slaughter devoted to Him, such as pilgrimage offerings and sacrificial animals, He says: “Neither their flesh nor their blood reaches God, but your mindfulness of Him reaches Him. Thus He subjected them to you so that you may glorify God for guiding you. Give glad tidings to those who do good” (37). “Reaches” means arrives. God thus tells us that worship and righteous deeds reach Him.
Ibn Taymiyyah says:
“Worship is the end for which God created servants in terms of His command, love and approval: ‘I created jinn and human beings only to worship Me.’ For it He sent messengers and revealed scriptures. It is a term combining complete and utmost humility with complete and utmost love for God. Love without humility and humility without love are not worship; worship combines both in their completeness. Therefore worship is appropriate only for God. Although its benefit is for the servant and God has no need of it, it is for Him in terms of His love and approval of it.
“Thus God rejoices more at a servant’s repentance than someone who loses a mount carrying food and drink in a desolate, deadly land, falls asleep despairing of finding it, then wakes to discover it. God rejoices more at His servant’s repentance than this person at the mount… Attributing this to God and that to the servant considers the original attachment of love and approval. The servant initially loves and desires what seems suitable to them, while God loves and approves what is the intended end in His pleasure, loving the means subordinately. Otherwise, every commanded thing benefits the servant, and God loves and approves all of it.” Al-Tuhfah al-‘Iraqiyyah, p. 44.
Success comes from God.